Sights and Sounds of Christmas: A Newark Event

Originally conceived by the Events
Committee of the Newark Alliance, Sights and Sounds of Christmas is in its
fifteenth year. The event is designed to showcase downtown historic churches
celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. The event has become a tradition
for many families. Although the tour involves walking, it is paced to allow
the event to be intergenerational with universal appeal.

What to See

Eight downtown churches participate in
the tour: Second Presbyterian, where the tour begins; Trinity AME; Trinity
Episcopal; First Presbyterian; Plymouth; St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran;
First Methodist; and St. Francis De Sales. First Presbyterian Church is
the oldest in Newark having begun in a log cabin on the Square.

Two costumed lamplighters lead the two
tour groups. These groups separate after the performance at the Second
Presbyterian Church and reunite for the finale at St. Francis De Sales.
Upon entering Second Presbyterian Church for the first performance, a red or
green sticker is affixed to your ticket. This will be your tour group.
Lamplighters costumed in red and green period costumes with candle-lighted
lamps will line up outside the church and lead their groups through the
tour. Caroling is often
heard from one or the other of the two groups as they move through the
downtown route.

What to Hear

Each church features a special musical
performance. The performances have been choirs, piano solos, organ solos,
bell choirs, or in the case of Plymouth Church, the Crystal City Chorus. The
performances are timed and coordinated with performances in the other
churches so that the two groups move through the tour crossing paths many
times but not coming together until the final church, St. Francis De Sales,
where their adult choir presents O Holy Night and the Hallelujah
Chorus. There are likely to be warm drinks and homemade cookies in the Lamay Center
after the tour.

The entire tour route is lighted with luminaries. The Sights and
Sounds Committee arranges with volunteers to set, light, and retrieve
luminaries in the downtown areas for the tour. The local churches
handle their own luminaries, and the whole tour route resembles an airport
runway as it snakes through the downtown. The luminaries are kindly
set out by the Boy Scouts of Troops 2, 4, and 9 and by
the Spencer House.

Ticket Information

Tickets are available at all participating churches, the Chamber of
Commerce, the Licking County Convention and
Visitors' Bureau, on the shuttle buses from the Methodist Church
parking lot (at Fifth and Granville Streets) to the Second Presbyterian Church, and at the door the night of
the event. Parking is available at St. Francis and First United Medthodist Church. Shuttle buses run from 5:00 until 5:45 and all run from the "Five Points" parking lot.

Your ticket resembles a program with
pictures and vignettes about the individual churches. On the back of the
program is a circle for a red or green sticker. A sticker must be placed in
this circle at the Second Presbyterian Church to designate your tour group.
Tickets cost $5 for adults and children over 12. The money made goes to the
Food Pantry Network of Licking County. Last year event made over $1,700 for the food
pantry. This is a huge help at Christmas time.